Coming Back
by Niki Bogwater
Summary: Oneshot. Link and Malon reunite after he saves the ranch from Ingo. Not to be confused with "Cooling Presence," which took place in an alternate timeline. Dedicated to koryandrs, my most faithful reviewer!


Link grasped Ingo's ridiculous frilled collar and slammed him against the wall. "Where's Malon?" he ground out slowly, his voice a deadly calm. Ingo stuttered and squeaked, unable to form intelligent words as Link's steely, cold blue eyes bored into him. "TELL ME NOW!" Link bellowed, causing Navi to duck under his hat in fear. Ingo managed to raise a shaky arm and point a trembling, knobby finger towards the heavy oaken door of the barn. Link released him, and he crumpled to the ground, clutching his head.

* * *

Malon's quiet sobbing blended well with the scene of complete desolation within the barn. An old dairy cow struggled to stay upright, ugly whiplashes stretching across her back. She lowed plaintively, wondering why her mistress didn't come to help her. Malon struggled again to move, to at least get closer to her hurt friend, but she only managed to exhaust herself as the tough ropes cut deeper into her skin.

She never should have tried to leave. She should have known that Ingo wouldn't let her run away. She hadn't even gotten out of earshot of the ranch before he came barreling down at her to drag her back. He'd tied her up and forced her to watch him brutally assault Spot, an elderly cow who had once been Malon's mother's favorite. He'd left both of them alone in the barn, forcing Malon to gaze upon the damage she had caused to a creature who had never done anything to hurt her. Fresh tears spilled over again, and she leaned against an old haybale and cried her heart out.

She felt her wounded heart drop into her stomach as she heard the creak of a barn door opening. He was back. She clenched her eyes shut, preparing herself for whatever horrible punishment he would inflict on her now. Maybe he'd come back to just completely butcher Spot. Perhaps he'd returned to whip her in the same way. Malon gulped back her tears of fear, hoping against all sensibility that if she remained quiet, he'd just forget her and leave her alone.

A gentle hand brushed her arm, and the ropes slackened and fell away. Malon opened her eyes and shrunk back further into the corner at the sight of this peculiar stranger kneeling by her. Or...was he really a stranger...Something in his eyes made Malon look closer, wondering if she had met him before.

"Malon, it's okay. Don't be scared." A very nice voice; melodious and lilting, like the song of a violin. Well, maybe more of a cello...it was a lot deeper than the last time she'd heard it...she knew she'd heard it before. He carefully pulled her to her feet, eyeing her worriedly. "It's me, Link." Her eyes widened and she wished she could fall through a crack and hide. How dare this stranger waltz in and pretend he was her childhood best friend! Link had died seven years ago. He was gone. But instead of challenging him and pointing this out, all she did was choke softly,

"Prove it." She didn't know why she'd said it. Maybe her heart was just so desperate for someone who would help her that it had taken control of her senses, banishing any control her better judgement had maintained before.

He seemed to smile just a little bit, and, taking out a small, silvery ocarina, he brought it to his lips and began to play. The notes seemed to take control of her mind, her eyes closing again as memory after memory flashed before her, tempting her to believe that he had come back...

* * *

_...Laughing...talking..."I think Epona likes you, Fairy Boy!" He smiled and patted the horse's nose..._

_...Running through the sunlit fields...tag...hide-and-seek...exploring...sometim es they'd just lie on the grass and stare at the clouds..._

_...Crying...Clutching the pendant he had made for her before he left..."Please come back, Link..."_

* * *

Malon's eyes shot open as the song ended. Her song. Epona's song. Only one person would know such a precious melody.

Malon threw her arms around him and sobbed into his shoulder. "Link! Link, my sweet Fairy Boy! You came back!" Spot gazed confusedly at her friend, who looked very happy all of a sudden, yet she was still crying. Humans...she thought, licking one of her wounds.

"I'm sorry, I'm so, so sorry..." he breathed, clutching her tightly, like he was afraid she would slip away from him.

"I waited..." Malon sobbed. "I waited for so long! I thought you were dead!"

"I'm so sorry, Malon..." he said again, struggling against his fierce desire to cry with her. "I left you...I left you for seven years...I never should have taken that sword...if only I'd known..." He sucked in a deep breath in painful reminiscence.

"It doesn't matter, now...you're here...you came back to save me...just don't let go, please..." Malon whimpered, attempting to calm down. Link obligingly tightened his grip on her.

"I raced Ingo...He's relinquished the ranch to Talon. He's coming home again soon." He petted her hair, trying to soothe her heaving sobs. "...I know I can never make it up to you for leaving...but I at least wanted to fix my mistakes for you...I'm so, so, sorry, Mal..."

"It's fine, it's all done now..." Malon sniffed, her churning emotions starting to settle down a bit. "You're back...you came back..."

"Malon, I..." Link gulped. He dreaded breaking her heart yet again... "I...can't stay...I'll have to leave again..."

"No!" Malon's grasp tightened, and the tears threatened to escape again.

"I'll come back, I promise. And I won't take seven years to do it. I just...I still have to find the princess...she wants me to do something else...I wish I didn't have to..." he added bitterly. "But...I have to...to keep Hyrule...you...safe. But I'll visit. I won't leave you alone again."

"...Can you just...stay for a little while longer? Please?" Malon looked up at him and blinked her large blue eyes in a way they both knew Link couldn't resist.

"...Fine..." he relented. "I want to keep an eye on Ingo for the next day or two anyways..." Malon's eyebrows quirked in a unique expression of concern.

"You...you didn't hurt him...did you?"

"Ummm...not really, no. He's fine..." But I would have loved to... he added silently.

She smiled and tentatively placed a gentle kiss on his cheek, which promptly appeared to have burst into flame. "Thanks for coming back to save us..."

**A/N: This ficlet has been floating around in my head for a while now, and I debated whether or not to actually write it up. I mean, I'm already drowning in Malinks that I've written. And then I remembered the oath of the ultimate Malinker: You can never have too much Malink (well, you can, it's just difficult to achieve). Also, my readers might have noticed that most of my Malink stories are connected on the same timeline. "Cooling Presence" is the one exception. It's a completely separate fic on its own. This one, however, does fall into that timeline. Just clearing up any confusion, there. **

**Dedicated to koryandrs, my most faithful reviewer!**

**-Niki Bogwater**


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